Blog Catalog Discussion: Ask Me Anything About Your Blog...

darren1985 on 'Ask Me Anything About Your Blog...'

darren1985 — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 18:02:30 -0600

Another BC member at it... great to hear that :-)

timethief on 'Ask Me Anything About Your Blog...'

timethief — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 15:51:57 -0600

Excuse me but DocNicole posted this in August 9/24/08 She's not doing this now. In fact, she's not currently posting to the forum at all, so please do not hold your breath waiting. If you want to reach her you can leave a PM in her shoutbox http://www.blogcatalog.com/user/DocNicole

MrsBlog on 'Ask Me Anything About Your Blog...'

MrsBlog — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 15:37:26 -0600

ok, I am in to hear your oppinion.
Have 1 blog; http://www.wwomenglobally.com/
and a cosy little community for international blogging ladies http://mrsbloginternational.ning.com/ (you are welcome to join of course)

as far as the blog is concerned have an impression that it indeed loads a bit slow... but it is just before I plan to make an general enhacement of it all.
Lovely initiative, will also look at your blog at let you know my own impressions.
all the best

AlbertMARKET on 'Ask Me Anything About Your Blog...'

AlbertMARKET — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 15:33:41 -0600

Check out my blog at www.marketopinions.blogspot.com

maxisangry on 'Ask Me Anything About Your Blog...'

maxisangry — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 15:31:43 -0600

Do I have to join StumbleUpon and Reddit and Digg etc in order to allow people to submit my posts? I really hate those stupid things and I hate the Stumble toolbar. Also, I'm an idiot and my blog is stupid too.

brookypie2009 on 'Ask Me Anything About Your Blog...'

brookypie2009 — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 15:23:31 -0600

I would just like your general opinion on my blog. It's an advice column, and I'm new at this whole thing lol. Thanks!

BagFan on 'Ask Me Anything About Your Blog...'

BagFan — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 11:44:49 -0600

You are providing a great service. Greatly appreciated..Can you please look at my blog and give some tips?

Thanks

iPhoneRuler on 'Ask Me Anything About Your Blog...'

iPhoneRuler — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 07:11:54 -0500

http://iphoneruler.blogspot.com

what do you think we can improve? thanks!

asosaki on 'Ask Me Anything About Your Blog...'

asosaki — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 07:05:13 -0500

Hey Doc,
I got a new blog http://blog.refernshare.com. My problem is, I cannot figure our my feed URL so that I can submit to feedburner. Can you help?

kdawg68 on 'Ask Me Anything About Your Blog...'

kdawg68 — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 06:59:59 -0500

I'm just wondering if someone can find bible prophecies or other encoded messages in my writing (i.e. "be sure to drink your ovaltine"). From time to time I feel as though Solux, the mantis alien (http://www.crystalinks.com/solux.html), is inspiring my writing - which probably explains why I tie things like Vercingetorix and his Gaulish hordes into posts about horse racing. You know how Solux can be about Gaulish history. :)

mukund2081990 on 'Ask Me Anything About Your Blog...'

mukund2081990 — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 04:46:04 -0500

I need more traffic to my blog. Also i need sponsors for my site. I have got a Google page rank of 2. I hope u can help me out. www.careerfreelife.blogspot.com

bucketbeats on 'Ask Me Anything About Your Blog...'

bucketbeats — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 04:27:16 -0500

Hello DocNicole... I need your help with optimizing my website. Do you have any suggestions... http://www.bucketbeats.com thanks in advance

Blabbergurl on 'Ask Me Anything About Your Blog...'

Blabbergurl — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 04:10:07 -0500

Thanks for your advice, you're a legend!
Cheers!

DiggaDominus on 'Ask Me Anything About Your Blog...'

DiggaDominus — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 18:19:03 -0500

Your saying my content is great is worth the droolings of a dozen fans. Such kindness will not be forgotten. :D

Comments I can do, no problem. Digg and Stuble Upon are resources I haven't fully exploited - they will be made to serve.

Thank you so much for the advice and time spent. I do have one minion/partner, my Site Seneschal (webmaster), we will discuss your insights.

DocNicole on 'Ask Me Anything About Your Blog...'

DocNicole — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:31:37 -0500

I think the more an information/news site can look like an information/news site the better. I am for that same reason switching to the revolutiontheme.com theme which is a magazine theme layout and will be keeping the simple white background. When it comes to delivering the news your words are your product and they will be showcased best in a white simple environment...just my honest opinion though.

Save the fancy sites for the stuff that needs it.

Sincerely,

Fellow fan of white websites.

DocNicole on 'Ask Me Anything About Your Blog...'

DocNicole — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:28:59 -0500

Yes it makes your butt look fat...because it is too tight! lol

What are you doing blogging under the constraints of a wordpress.com account? you need to upgrade to your own domain name and hosting account at this point! Great sports news.

DocNicole on 'Ask Me Anything About Your Blog...'

DocNicole — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:16:29 -0500

I would post that as a separate discussion thread here under "blogging help".

Sorry don't know a thing about code.

DocNicole on 'Ask Me Anything About Your Blog...'

DocNicole — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:15:33 -0500

Hi there! I like the name of your blog. Very cute. looks like your sidebar is not showing up in the right place...may be a problem in your template. I do like the template though. You should install feedburner.com and have subscribe featured listed directly above your "about me" profile widget. As for getting more traffic to your blog, how bout starting with an entrecard.com account? Great way to find blogs to network with, comment on, etc...leave comments for other bloggers and they will eventually do the same.

annaswan on 'Ask Me Anything About Your Blog...'

annaswan — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:15:30 -0500

My question is simply one of taste, it's not technical, and you don't even have to visit my blog to answer. LOL I used a really minimalistic theme, because I present mostly news style articles. What's you opinion of blog bling? Should people really dress their themes up and use lots of color and graphics on information/news type blogs... or just stick to the minimal newspaper style?

DocNicole on 'Ask Me Anything About Your Blog...'

DocNicole — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:12:32 -0500

Gosh...I don't know a thing about code. I ask crkian on my top friends or Time Thief...her blog may be able to answer your question. You can always post a separate discussion under "blogging help" I usually get a response right away from someone around here.

DocNicole on 'Ask Me Anything About Your Blog...'

DocNicole — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:11:09 -0500

yes it looks awesome! So excited. Great job!!! Love the new avatar...

Look out...hello! You are the lipstick queen of the blogosphere now...everyone will need to bow down.

DocNicole on 'Ask Me Anything About Your Blog...'

DocNicole — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:10:26 -0500

Yes, I think I already reviewed your blog above James...

You do need to resize the pics on your blog. Since you are a professional photographer I am going to be hard on you and say that the pics should always be the same size...the latest one is way to big and going off the blog template. I would fix that asap.

DocNicole on 'Ask Me Anything About Your Blog...'

DocNicole — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:08:52 -0500

well if black is your thing then go with it! None of the suggestions are urgent of course, it is always good though to have some ideas on how to grow your blog for the future. I subscribed to your feed because the content made me laugh...and happy to not have kids right now! yikes...lol

DocNicole on 'Ask Me Anything About Your Blog...'

DocNicole — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:06:40 -0500

You poor thing! You don't have enough minions to do your work for you and sycophants telling you how fabulous and beautiful your blog is every day. Trust me, I feel your pain. lol

Well your content is great, I would just downscale some pics and align them to the left...I would also take the tagline above the banner down and integrate it in to the banner so that you get more of your page showing above the cuff. The banner should only take up about a thumbs length's width of your page.

What kinds of topics do you most commonly blog about? I would add that to your about me page so people know more of what to expect from you.

You don't have any comments! Are you leaving comments for other people? It takes comments to make comments. Start commenting people with blogs like yours and see if that gets it started off. Also spending time at digg and stumbleupon to learn about popular posts in your genre will help you get a feel for what will be a hit at these sites. Craft posts specifically with either stumble or digg in mind and submit ONLY those posts. Your friends should pick up the rest, as long as you are doing the same for them.

yes...yes...dear you will have to be a bit of a minion at first, but your writing and humor is clever and witty so the rest should eventually fall in to place. Six months is nothing for a blog. To build a really successful blog you have to think long term. Do start thinking now as to how you want to grow this vision, if you really want to blog for fans and notoriety then strip down your google ads if they aren't making you any money. Work on building a readership first and then consider monetizing the blog.

Enjoyed my visit! Let me know if you make any changes so I can check them out :D Doc

DocNicole on 'Ask Me Anything About Your Blog...'

DocNicole — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 15:56:18 -0500

Looks like you are off to a great start! Comic strip sites do really well on stumbleupon.com so anytime you have something new just holler at me and I will submit it for you (don't submit your own stuff it is against the TOS and will get you banned)

Check out starcasm.net (also on this thread) and do a google search for "Saturday Morning Cereal" blog as the first one is also new, and the second one is extremely popular just in the last six months.

If I had your talent I would work really hard to make a great comic strip that explains what your site is all about and make that in to the banner. Something that tells people to subscribe too...(you need an RSS feature not just email).

You are clearly very talented so this project should be nothing but a huge success. Be sure to always include your domain name on your comics and when a new one is out you can email it as a "press release" to various news sites that may want to use it. Free publicity!

DocNicole on 'Ask Me Anything About Your Blog...'

DocNicole — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 15:45:41 -0500

I think the only problem with your blog right now is that you don't have any readers! I would take down the feedburner stat that says you have 16 readers because it isn't good advertising. You need comments and activity to liven your blog up. The content and theme are great and not the problem.

I try to comment everyone that leaves me a comment (http://kitchentablemedicine.com) shamless plug...lol

You should also read http://problogger.net as they just did a recent really great post on how to get more discussion going on your blog.

Blogs need questions at the end to get the ball rolling. That is what makes them more interesting than just a newspaper article.

Good luck! You will do great...

RTBjr73 on 'Ask Me Anything About Your Blog...'

RTBjr73 — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 15:32:28 -0500

does my blog make my butt look fat?

http://tommybloggingsports.wordpress.com/

josephgelb on 'Ask Me Anything About Your Blog...'

josephgelb — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 15:28:11 -0500

how does one i organize and design in phbb forum forum.xbangz.com

JamieLay on 'Ask Me Anything About Your Blog...'

JamieLay — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 15:08:04 -0500

Aww thanks Doc...do you also prescribe medications? LOL. Sorry it took so long to respond, but I thought you had given up on this thread. Thanks for taking the time..I will unlock the "Muffin Top Killers"..you can join if you want too!
I will take take your thoughts into consideration...and add you as my friends..I am knew here..so I am a bit rusty;)

deejames on 'Ask Me Anything About Your Blog...'

deejames — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 08:40:08 -0500

thanks anyway, i have fixed it on my own.. with the help of google..

Blabbergurl on 'Ask Me Anything About Your Blog...'

Blabbergurl — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 05:18:05 -0500

Hi, please help! i've just created this blog and i don't seem to get much viewers...anything lacking? is it too simple or what's wrong ( sigh!) do i need to add more content wise?
http://blabbermouthmoi.blogspot.com

josephgelb on 'Ask Me Anything About Your Blog...'

josephgelb — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 04:09:17 -0500

how do you combine wordpress scripts with a forum scrips on one site whether it be one thing or multiple sub domains of the pie

digitalbodega on 'Ask Me Anything About Your Blog...'

digitalbodega — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 03:54:29 -0500

Doc Nicole, hope you can check on my blog if it's better I made some changes and there are new ads posted :)
http://lipstickaddict.blogspot.com

Thanks!

roentarre on 'Ask Me Anything About Your Blog...'

roentarre — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 03:22:28 -0500

Would you visit again?

http://www.roentarre.com/Blog.aspx?id=4

luvikavi on 'Ask Me Anything About Your Blog...'

luvikavi — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 02:59:02 -0500

Thanks doc nicole@ your advise. I actually picked black because back is my color lol, just check out my wardrobe. I got the template from an online site, wish I actually made it. As for the banner, I'm not sure how to make it smaller, I guess I'll have to jiggle around with the code, lol!

DiggaDominus on 'Ask Me Anything About Your Blog...'

DiggaDominus — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 00:16:40 -0500

My Dominion ( http://dadominion.com/blog/ )is approaching 6 months old, yet I don't have the legions of sycophants I feel I deserve. What do you suggest Doc?

Thanks for the advice in advance. Join my social network and I'll make you ambassador to the catalog :D

DocNicole on 'Ask Me Anything About Your Blog...'

DocNicole — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 23:26:38 -0500

Oh gosh honey I don't know a thing about code! Sorry, I would suggest you start a new discussion asking that exact question. That is what the choice "blogging help" is for. There are a lot of really smart, helpful people around here.

DocNicole on 'Ask Me Anything About Your Blog...'

DocNicole — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 23:25:11 -0500

Oh my gosh I just read your post on the importance of dental health while eating a handful of chocolate chips. Hold on...I have to go brush my teeth now. I am getting cavities as we speak! lol

Ok...but seriously. I love your content. Well put together, looks like you really have the basics of blogging down, so I would maybe just suggest a few nit picky things.

I am not a fan of black backgrounds. I think white or red would also go well with your theme and it would be easier on your reader's eyes.

Your blog is beautifully put together! You should be really proud of it...wow did you design this template yourself? I really like your banner, I just think you should shrink it to about half that size for the same reason I mentioned in the comment to the blogger above you...maybe even a 1/3 of that size if you can make it work. The pattern is great, and the quote is great.

Just a few little tweaks, the content is great...and of course this is YOUR blog not mine so have fun with it and do what makes you happy. If you love black then stick with it.

Phillyzero on 'Ask Me Anything About Your Blog...'

Phillyzero — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 23:17:59 -0500

If you have the time, I'd like some input on my site design and any advice to improve it. Thanks!

http://blackrussiancomics.com

DocNicole on 'Ask Me Anything About Your Blog...'

DocNicole — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 23:16:25 -0500

Hi, JamieLay! Love your avatar first and foremost, I have seen you around here and it always cracks me up!

Ok which blog? You have two...let's start with muffin top killers...lol hilarious title I love it!!! Oh I am locked out of that one...hmm...let me know when it is viewable.

The suburban blog is great! I would probably just downscale the banner so you can at least see individual blog titles and the start of the blog. The reason for this is that people on socialbookmarking sites like digg, stubmleupon and what not are very lazy and don't want to actually have to scroll down to see if the article their friend sent them interests them. The banner is hilarious though...and I love the tagline.

Ok your content is absolutely hilarious, I know what it is like to have to get stuck with the reject spinning bike. Great content! You are an engaging well written blogger. I don't see a subscription option. You may want to install feedburner to the top right corner.

I love the style continuity of the pictures you choose, the fifties housewife gone wrong feel is very entertaining. I am not sure the black background really brings all those pics together though. Maybe something light yellow or grey would work better...maybe even a brown. What is your favorite color? I would go with that. This is your personal page, not mine...but black is tough on your reader's eyes as well so I would rethink that.

Let me know if you make any changes...I added you to my reader!